French game union accuses Microsoft of 'sabotaging' Blade and then using the fallout to justify closing Arkane

French game union accuses Microsoft of 'sabotaging' Blade and then using the fallout to justify closing Arkane

The STJV union says Microsoft imposed hiring freezes at Arkane that resulted in delays and additional expenses, which it then cited as reasons for shutting it down.

"After freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delays and additional cost, Microsoft now uses those same delays and additional costs as a reason to close down the studio."

France's Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) union has accused Microsoft of sabotaging work on Marvel's Blade and then using the inevitable results to justify Arkane's closure.

The union said development of Blade "is going fine," and that the game is on par with Arkane's previous body of work, which includes the Dishonored series, Prey, Deathloop, and the sadly overlooked Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Despite that, "workers have to face the harsh reality: our studio might get closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided to, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded."

"Microsoft chose to justify the closure on economic reasons," the union wrote. "But Microsoft is actually why those economic reasons even exist. Because after freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delays and additional cost, Microsoft now uses those same delays and additional costs as a reason to close down the studio."

Closing Arkane would defy "financial logic," the union claimed, as it would likely cost more money than just allowing it to finish Blade—and furthermore, it added, Arkane is profitable—"just not profitable enough for Microsoft."

"Microsoft is responsible for the situation Arkane is in today. Microsoft is responsible for the situation the workers are in today," the union said. "So Microsoft has to take full responsibility here and act accordingly."

While its "dearest wish" is to see Arkane "live on," STJV said the studio's future has to go beyond just completing Blade. And if that's not feasible and Arkane must close, it falls to Microsoft—"the company who decided that Arkane has to shut down"—to take care of the hundreds of lives it has thrown into turmoil. Given Microsoft's essentially limitless resources, the union believes the company has a moral obligation to go beyond the bare minimum required by law: "We will not allow the lives of Arkane Studios' workers to be destroyed without the company paying a fair price."

The union is not aiming low with its demands. First, "to give employees control over the decisions that shape their future" while acquisition negotiations are underway:

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

- Go beyond the mandatory Work Council consultation, and actually give employees representative & unions a say in the discussion to choose a potential buyer.

- Setup a protection fund for employees on the level of the PSE compensation in case workers get fired for economic reasons by the buyer in 24 following months.

Should Arkane ultimately be closed, it demands Microsoft "funds commensurate with Microsoft’s status as a corporation" to ensure employees are properly compensated:

- A redundancy payment of 200K€ ($225,000).

- Two years’ redeployment support funded by Microsoft.

- The introduction of shared resources for training and studio creation, with a residual bonus to enable all employees to look to the future with confidence.

- Compensation up to the redundancy payment for independant workers’ contract breach.

Those are big asks, but the union isn't wrong about the resources Microsoft has at its disposal: Microsoft's net income for the first quarter of FY27 was $36.6 billion. Xbox is a small contributor to that total, but it is a part of Microsoft, and that makes it Microsoft's issue to deal with.

For now, the fate of Arkane remains unresolved: The studio fell victim to the most recent round of cuts at Xbox, but a recent report indicated that it might yet find a home with a new owner. I've reached out to Xbox for comment on the STJV union's demands and will update if I receive a reply.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.